Roommates
by Emily Writes Some Things
Summary: The adventures of urban roommates Wang Yao and Ivan Braginski, set in the 1970s.
1. Chapter 1

The portable fan in the corner of our single cell apartment chopped and stirred the humid air, exhausted and on the verge of collapse. I grabbed the copy of this morning's paper and desperately waved it in front of myself in a futile effort to cool down. Of course, on this hot, stuffy, sweaty, gross afternoon in the middle of July, the air conditioning gave out. Just my luck. It would be hours before my roommate, Ivan, arrived home from his work at the car repair. He was always the burly fix-it-man, and while his tremendous height and thick build could be intimidating, most of the time he's a real softie. He appears to be so innocent, his darling smile could illuminate every apartment in this building - if only it wasn't accompanied by the eerie aura that follows at his footsteps. While at first he comes off as naive, deep down I think everyone could interpret how mentally cracked he was. Ivan had a tendency to frighten certain people, even myself at one point. I assume I'm just immune now to his somewhat strange ways after living with him for over a year now.

Soaking in the sweat of my defeat, I finally gave up hope on the dying fan and plopped onto the maroon sofa. Since venturing outdoors was pretty much out of the question due to the temperature being that of a fucking oven, I couldn't even bear to crawl out to the parking lot to retrieve my car and drive to somewhere with air conditioning that actually worked. I slicked my well-kept raven hair back into a ponytail, the back of my neck moist and uncomfortable. I laid in an afflictive, shirtless heap of to-go won-ton soup Styrofoam cups and old catalogs from stores I don't even shop at. The reel-to-reel tape player blasted "Got To Get You Into My Life" and I nearly strained my voice belting out the lyrics. I remained in this pathetic state for an indefinite period until a glorious rattling of keys sounded and Ivan arrived home. As the door swung open, I would've leaped from my position if I wasn't so terribly tired, merely by heat.

"Thank goodness you're home! Air condition has been broken since two o'clock, or at least since I got home from work," I breathed, bone-weary. He raised his eyebrows at me yet smiled knowingly.

"Oh Yao, you are so silly!" Ivan half-giggled and made his way toward the chunk of plastic in the corner. I folded my arms across my still bare (not like I really cared) chest and observed his steady actions and examination of the malfunctioning necessity. His thin tee shirt clung to his torso with perspiration, just slightly bending and curving around his muscles. Even in this one hundred and four degree sweltering, oppressive sultriness, a magenta scarf loosely hung around his neck. That thing was always attached to him, no matter what. I never bothered to question it, but now as I took the time to fully look him up and down while he was bent over and focused on this machine, it certainly made me wonder. However, I wasn't curious enough to make me interrupt his diligent work. Nor did I want to lose my chance to admire his impressive looks.

I suppose, after all of this time, I have developed a meager crush on him. I will admit that. I don't know for certain that it is unrequited; at some points he seems to have at least a bit of interest in me, but honestly it was probably my overly optimistic imagination combined with his childlike and curious demeanor. I wouldn't dare suggest to him that I might have feelings for him, so for now I will just immerse myself into thoughts of him. After about forty five minutes, a fond coolness began to pick up in the atmosphere of the room and I let out a relieved sigh and a thank you. After only sheer seconds of enjoyment was I met with yet another heat; the embrace of Ivan, his mighty arms wound around me and enclosing my chest against his. He always did like hugs, but this one seemed different. More affectionate, lingering longer, and a lot less platonic feeling.

"Next time, Yao, you should try to be more subtle when checking someone out," Ivan chuckled.


	2. Chapter 2

-two months later-

I had recently begun to accept Ivan's tendencies to crawl into my bunk on those lonely evenings. His fingers threaded through my long hair, twisting it around like he was trying to spin gold. I would lay on his thick chest, longing to feel the beat of his heart but finding an empty silence instead. Since neither of us were the talkative type, when boredom reigned we would fill the void with light and soundless kisses. However, some nights the atmosphere thirsted for something more than soft caresses and we dared to roam past the innocent touches.

I rolled over to face Ivan and his vivid purple eyes. I traced hearts on his forearm with my finger and he pulled me closer. Our warm breaths intertwined and his lips found their way to the delicate skin of my neck. The kisses started off clean and harmless, but with every noise of pleasure I released and every approving squeeze, the kisses intensified. Slowly the kisses mingled with a bit of sucking and a pink tinge rose to my flesh; not like I minded. A few more of those and Ivan was out of breath, laying back down beside me.

"We should go to sleep, da?" he suggested. I glanced at the wall clock and read the time as half past eleven. I shrugged. He grasped the corner of the comforter and pulled it on top of him as his eyes fluttered shut. The yellow light from the dimming lamp on our nightstand twinkled against his blonde lashes. It was something only someone paying a great deal of attention to this man's appearance would care to notice; but I did, and to me it was another thing on the endless list of things that made Ivan beautiful. I whispered a barely audible "good night" and fell asleep with an arm draped over his heart.

The morning sunshine gleamed through the curtains a few hours later. I yawned and popped a few bones climbing out of bed. Over the years I had grown into a morning person. It wasn't so much of a choice, rather that when I still lived with my parents and I had rambunctious siblings hollering at the top of their lungs at barely the crack of dawn, I adapted to embrace the start of each day. Now that I'm an adult, work was an inevitable factor of my life. I had to be ready at the counters of the Silver Swan Eatery at no later than seven o'clock sharp to serve our customers. In all honesty, I don't dislike my job; some of the patrons weren't exactly to die for, though.

I kicked the side of the bed in an attempt to wake up the slumbering Ivan. Not even our obnoxious alarm clock could ever awaken him, so eventually I took it upon myself to do so. He slowly sat up and stretched, rubbing his eyes and howling out a yawn. Locks of white blonde hair tangled about his head and stuck up in all the wrong places. His bedhead sure was cute. I slipped on a button-down shirt and discreetly gazed at him stumbling and fishing though the dresser for clothes. I swear, when he first wakes up he looks more drunk than when he's chugged a load of vodka. He dressed himself and slinked his arms around my waist. I had noticed a few bruises had appeared on my neck as a result from the night before, and Ivan seemed to enjoy that. He smiled down at me and reached up to straighten out the collar of my shirt. I glanced down at my watch with a subtle blush rising to my cheeks.

"I've got to go, I'll see you tonight, aru!" I unwound myself from his gentle grasp and waved goodbye, placing the hairbrush back down on the vanity and walking out. I hopped into my car and drove a few blocks to the restaurant. I arrived ten minutes prior to my scheduled shift, which meant the place was even more deserted than usual. Well, who really eats Chinese food at 6:50 in the morning, anyway?

A co-worker of mine brushed past me. "Oh, hey!"

"Hello Jaime," I responded.

"What's with your, er, neck? Someone get a girlfriend?" he said with a sly, knowing smirk.

"Well, uh, not exactly..." I rubbed my palm along the marks and bit my lip. I knew his reaction to my relationship with my male roommate wouldn't be accepting.

"Aw, come on now. You certainly didn't do that to yourself," he pressed.

"Never said I did," I replied shortly.

"Kid, don't try to play innocent. I know a hickey when I see one," Jaime said.

"I never said it wasn't a hickey," I looked down at the checkered tile as I spoke.

"But you said you didn't have a gal," he questioned. He was such a nosy fellow.

"I don't," I assured.

"But then-" his expression changed as he realized what I was saying. "Gross, man."

I walked away without another word, slightly embarrassed and insulted. As the first few customers began pouring in I continued my shift like normal as the day went on, and left the place hours later. Thankfully, I ended up not having to speak again to my rude acquaintance.


End file.
